The present invention relates to a camera system having an integral sound recording means for recording and outputting a permanent record of sound associated with a photograph and recorded in infra-red ink over the photograph. Hence, the present invention relates to a photograph reader to decode sound and play sound.
The present invention also relates to a means for reproducing the recorded sound and discloses a photograph reader to decode sound and play sound.
The production of images by means of photographic techniques have been well known for a substantial period of time. Further, recently, digital cameras have become increasingly popular where an image is captured by the digital camera device and stored for later printing.
In applicant""s applications U.S. Ser. No. 09/113,060, 09/113,070 and U.S. Ser. No. 09/113,222, a camera system has been proposed that includes an integral printer device for the printing out of sensed images.
When using such devices and other image capture devices it will be desirable to be able to suitably deal with audio and other environmental information when taking a picture.
In applicant""s application U.S. Ser. No. 09/113,107 one such device was disclosed in which audio data was recorded on the rear of a card or photograph using black ink on a white background. A reader could read the data and reproduce the signal through audio generator means when the card or photograph was passed through a scanner means.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,896,403 (Nagasaki et al.) a printing system is disclosed which prints images and audio information on print media, for example, a sheet, in dot codes which can be read by a pen device. The information can be decoded notwithstanding scanning of the data being irregular or random due to the organization of the dot codes. In Nagasaki et al. system the scanning of data is low. In applicant""s printing and scanning system as disclosed in U.S. Ser. No. 09/113,107 the process is a pagewidth process rather than a line by line process as in Nagasaki et al.
The present invention relates to a camera system able to record audio when acquiring a sensed image in addition to being able to playback the audio information when viewing a xe2x80x9cphotographxe2x80x9d, the audio and xe2x80x9cphotographxe2x80x9d being recorded on the same surface of a print media.
In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for playing prerecorded audio encoded in a fault tolerant manner as an array of invisible ink dots printed on a photograph in substantially the same area thereas comprising: an infrared scanner means for scanning the printed invisible ink dots of said prerecorded audio; a processor means interconnected to said infra-red scanner means for decoding said scanned audio encoding to produce a corresponding audio signal; and audio emitter means interconnected to said processor means for emitting or playing said corresponding audio signal on demand.
The invisible ink may be an infrared (IR) absorbing ink with negligible absorption in the visible spectrum.
The encoding can include Reed-Solomon encoding of the prerecorded audio and comprises an array of IR (infrared) ink dots which are printed on the photograph using a page width ink jet printhead. The array of dots may be high frequency modulated to aid scanning, for example using a checkerboard pattern.
The system can include a wand-like axon having a slot through which is inserted the photograph.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of decoding a prerecorded audio signal printed as an array of invisible ink dots in a fault tolerant encoded form on a surface of a photograph coincident with an image printed on said surface of said photograph, said method comprising the steps of:
(a) scanning the printed encoded form of said prerecorded audio on said photograph in the infra-red;
(b) decoding said encoded audio signal; and
(c) playing said audio signal on an audio output device.